New Year, New You: Use This Transition As An Opportunity To Redefine Yourself

Just six months ago, we were preparing for another hot summer filled with wild weekends, maybe some summer love and a copious amount of booze. It seems that within just several blinks of the eye, Christmas came and went. With a new year upon us, people are scrambling for ideas of self-improvement.

We’re joining gyms and slapping on nicotine patches in an attempt to start the New Year right. But this year, consider something a little different than the humdrum fitness and clean eating regimen to improve your everyday life. Consider a new kind of resolution for 2014.

Start from within. Self-improvement is not all about weight, bad habits or financial debts. To truly grow as an individual, you must first genuinely reflect on how you feel about yourself.

The mirror of the mind is the way we analyze and perceive ourselves, and to make deliberate resolutions, you must clear your mirror. The mirror of the mind is the person we see in our mind’s eye — our personal reflection. When a new year approaches, we sit down, reflect and analyze where we could improve.

The challenge is to stop counting; to stop keeping track of the things you don’t have and the things you are not. Instead, look deeper into yourself and acknowledge all of the things you do have. Not material possessions, but personal qualities and values — things you can’t buy in a store. By thinking negatively about yourself, you cloud your personal judgment. Clearing the mind’s mirror allows you to see all of the positivity you already possess.

Introspect and consider your self-perception. Is your mind’s mirror dirty, cloudy, full of judgment and full of negativity? Or is it clear, open, honest, full of self-assurance and full of belief?

If you’re not in this self-actualized place yet, don’t worry — it’s not a race. None of us are perfect and we all carry self-doubt. But, along with the effort to wipe the mirror clear of the negative thoughts that live between our ears, comes a new self-perception that is brighter and likely to bring happiness.

Open your mind to view the person you truly are. Appreciate yourself — stop ridiculing yourself. Personal improvements are a great thing, but only when they come from a place of appreciation and love.